During June, the U.S. Domestic market outperformed China for the first time since China’s July 2020 re-opening, according to a report from the British research firm Gower Street. Bringing the best box office result since the pandemic began in the Domestic market, June lay further foundational stones for recovery despite a slight retraction in global box office compared to May, the report said. According to Gower Street’s latest monthly Global Box Office Tracker, the global box office retracted slightly in June from the previous month grossing $1.3 billion, down from $1.4 billion in May. However, this is a normal trend and no cause for concern.
The average global box office for the three pre-pandemic years (2017-2019) was $3.3 billion in May compared to just $3.0 billion for June. What’s more, the monthly deficit compared to the three-year average was reduced for June, with 2021 standing $1.7 billion behind the average compared to $1.8 billion in May (both March and April lost $2.4 billion compared to the three-year average).
The more important news recovery news for June is Domestic growth and what that contributes to global recovery. The Domestic market grew its box office in June ($0.4 billion, up from $0.2 billion the previous two months). This is in part thanks to two hit sequels. A Quiet Place, Part ll arrived at the close of May for the Memorial Day weekend scoring a, then, pandemic-era high opening and fueling box office results into June.
The end of the month then brought the pandemic-era’s biggest box office success, F9: The Fast Saga (which scored the biggest Domestic opening since Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker back in December 2019).
Both Quiet Place, Part ll and F9 have also shown the enthusiasm of audiences around the world to return to movie theaters where they can. By the end of June, Paramount’s horror sequel had grossed over $250 million worldwide and F9 over $400 million ($429 million to July 1). F9’s roster of international openings for the June 25 weekend included UK/Ireland and Portugal, scoring the best opening since 1917 (the movie not the year!) back in January 2020; Brazil, where it was the top opening since Jumanji: The Next Level, also in January 2020; Mexico, where it delivered the best opening since Frozen 2 in November 2019; Panama, also the best result since 2019; and Colombia (best of the pandemic era).
Another contributing factor to improved Domestic performance was the continued rise in the number of movie theaters re-opening. At the close of May the market share of theaters operating had hit 75 percent. This grew further in June to stand just shy of 79.5 percent by month’s end.
The month also delivered big news on the global front concerning market share of open theaters, which hit 80 percent for the first time since the pandemic began over the June 11 weekend (80.2 percent). It had risen to 82 percent by the end of the month. Renewed closures in South Africa and parts of Australia, including Sydney, from June 28 may result in a contraction, though hopefully these may be mitigated by further re-openings in Germany and Turkey from July 1.
The main reason for the slight retraction in global box office fortunes in June was China, where box office for the month was approximately $0.3 billion – half the three-year average and well down on May’s $0.8 billion. This meant it was the first time since China re-opened last July, that the Domestic market delivered a monthly box office higher than that in the recently crowned number one global market!
It is worth noting, however, that May’s Chinese box office was 25 percent ahead of the three-year average helped by a record Labor Day holiday and the earlier, May 21, release there of F9 (which has grossed approximately $215 million in the number one global market). China lacked a big new release in June with the top openers, Taiwanese title Man in Love ($33 million) and Peter Rabbit 2 ($25 million), failing to make the market’s top 25 releases of 2021 so far (which include 12 titles over $100 million).